On the one hand, I’d say Kirby’s in “the cupboard wasn’t bare when I arrived” camp. On the other hand, the hunger part was a lesson that Mark Richt had trouble impressing on the troops when he was here.

With an attitude like that, he can probably miss the next three or four NCAA tourneys and still avoid the hot seat. And when that wears thin (“hey, there are plenty of coaches out there who won’t recruit kneeling players, when’s he gonna win?”), he can start carrying on the sideline to bolster fan support for a few more.

Davis placed an emphasis on the national anthem at Middle Tennessee State.

“The pride he took every time we got a letter from an opposing fan because our guys stand at attention during the national anthem and they all hold their hand over their heart. That’s a very big thing with Coach Davis,” MTSU athletic director Chris Massaro, told the Clarion Ledger Friday. “Typically, when we go from arena to arena a fan would notice that and they would send either him or me a note, a letter or email. We took great pride in that. That’s kind of one of the things I’ll always remember him by … how much pride he took into that.

“It’s a small thing in some ways but it’s a huge thing to a lot of people, to him and to our program. That’s one of the things we’ll see as we continue forward. That’s going to be one of the legacies he’ll leave.”

Davis’ statement drew a sizeable cheer from those in attendance Monday at The Pavilion.

Sizeable cheer from fans? Mission accomplished! Although I wait to see how his policy meshes with this:

Per an athletic department administrator, Ole Miss student-athletes, in all sports, have been “educated about the importance of freedom of expression, and that won’t change.”

I think we all know the obvious topics of interest/pundit obsession, so I’ll hit on a couple of subjects perhaps off the beaten path a bit that Seth Emerson raises here and Marc Weiszer takes on here.

One: there are some new coaches on staff for 2o18. What to expect?

Scott Fountain, who spent last year as a special teams analyst, is now the full-time special teams coordinator. Cortez Hankton (receivers) and Dan Lanning (outside linebackers) have joined the staff. James Coley, who had been receivers coach, is expected to move to help coach quarterbacks. Jim Chaney, who had been quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator, may focus on the latter role. Coach Kirby Smart should confirm the moves before practice begins Tuesday.

Along those lines, who will be directing the tight ends is a little mystery of which perhaps some light will be shed.

Two, which of the fresh faces works his way into the discussion about serious playing time?

Hello, early enrollees

Georgia signed seven five-star recruits in its recruiting class. Four of them enrolled early — Fields, Mays, outside linebacker Brenton Cox and running back Zamir White, who is coming off ACL surgery.

White won’t be a factor in the spring because of his surgery, but that still leaves a lot of star power that will be fighting to be included in the mix. In particular, will Cade Mays prove to be a real option to crack the starting five on the o-line?

If you remember how Jeremy Pruitt weeded out (see what I did there?) a fair number of defensive players from Georgia’s roster upon his arrival, this shouldn’t come as any real surprise.

Who will leave?

Pruitt means business, and he knows that coddling players is not the way to get the Vols competing for championships. His take-it-or-leave attitude may not jibe with all the players he is inheriting from former coach Butch Jones.

Tennessee’s roster has stayed mostly intact through the transition so far, but after 15 spring practices it’s likely that at least a few players will decide to depart. This creates a delicate balancing act for the new coaching staff, because the Vols can ill afford to lose much depth. It would be especially taxing to the 2018 roster if any scholarship offensive linemen decide to leave.

I can’t imagine that in his first shot as a head coach, Pruitt is of a mind to compromise his management principles. I also can’t imagine there aren’t at least a few of Booch’s recruits who won’t see eye-to-eye with the new regime.

Between that and the shaky health in certain key areas like the offensive line, I can’t help but wonder what the over/under on the number of scholarship athletes on UT’s roster will be by the time the season opener rolls around.